michael symon: live to cook

April of last year we went to Sonoma and San Francisco for the week. Like every trip I take, I spend a fair amount of time researching where to eat. For this trip, I e-mailed Michael Symon to inquire about his favorite places since I remembered reading he just returned from the Bay area. He quickly responded with not only his suggestions, but his friend’s as well, fellow chef Chris Cosentino of Incanto. We actually ended up at Incanto one night, and to our surprise (more like complete shock), the sever brought out foie gras and bacon on toast with strawberry-rhubarb jam topped with trotter for us to start our meal. As she set the dish down she said, ‘Michael Symon welcomes you to San Francisco.’ I still can’t believe it – Michael Symon not only took the time to share restaurant suggestions with me and call around for more, but extended this incredibly kind and thoughtful gesture. When I first started this blog I sent out an e-mail to a bunch of chefs looking to do Q&A’s -something I thought would be fun to explore and was curious to see who would respond. Michael Symon was the first (he responded with answers in 15 minutes). And he barely knew me. And when my sister was securing items to be raffled to help raise money for one of her coworker’s son’s who had cancer, Symon again was the first to respond to my e-mail and generously donated. These are just a few examples of the encounters I’ve had with him. You all know that Symon is a great chef. I’d also like you to know that he’s even a better person.

Whenever we bump into him or his wife, Liz, they treat us as if we’ve known them forever. They are genuine, funny and the perfect representation for our city. I’m thankful that authoring this blog has given me the opportunity to get know so many wonderful people, including the Symons.

As soon as I opened the package, I started perusing the book and all its beautiful photography. I still haven’t put it down. It’s filled with dishes from Lola and Lolita as well as meals he makes with his family. And there are stories – lots of stories with history. And information, really good information that’s geared to make us all better in the kitchen. My husband and I plan to cook our way through every page of this book and hopefully become better homecooks because of it.

Symon’s cookbook is a true Cleveland representation with contributions from Heidi Robb and Michael and Donna Ruhlman. You can’t not be excited for Michael. We have all cheered him on, on both the local and national stage, and supported him since Lola first opened in 1997. He’s one of us.

If you’d like the other copy, just tell me your favorite part of the pig to cook with and why. I’ll pick a winner on Thursday. Happy reading and eating.

Got to be the baby back rib, i think the reason for that is that it reminds me of family and home. Ribs in general were something that as a child I loved to eat and because of that I remember weekends during the summer spent in front of the grill cooking the ribs for hours till they were tender and juicy all the while playing catch with my brother and dad in the backyard as the smell of the ribs wafting towards us.

Is this a trick question? I don’t think there’s a bad part of a pig to prepare. I guess it might be easier to name my least favorite part of the pig to cook (ham) but even that is delicious when it comes from a quality hog.

I just ordered a whole Berkshire hog to split with one of my friends from Bluebird Meadows. I’ve tried many local Berkshire cuts of meat and Bluebird Meadows is hands down the best. I highly recommend checking them out. They sell at Crocker Park Farmers Market or I’d be happy to pass their contact info on to

My favorite parts of the pig to cook are below in no particular order.

1. Bacon / Belly – Enough said. I can’t wait to get the belly from my hog to cure my own bacon!

2. Bone in Chops – Simply seasoned with salt & pepper and grilled over lump charcoal. Doesn’t get much than this cut for me!

3. Ribs – I’ve only recently begun experimenting with ribs. Pretty simple to make, but definitely a time consuming process to make them right. I like to rub them down with my homemade BBQ rub and smoke them low & slow (4-6 hours). Half way through I like to baste them with a mop sauce consisting of apple juice (or cider) and some other spices.

4. Tenderloin – Definitely not my favorite cut, but this versatile cut is great to prepare a quick meal during the week when there’s not time for an elaborate meal. It really takes on the flavor of whatever you marinare/rub/etc on it. My personal favorite preps are lightly marinated in olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt & pepper or rubbed down with my homemade BBQ rub and grilled over lump charcoal.

5. Shoulder / Butt – Probably my personal favorite to prepare, definitely a labor of love. I love to smoke a nice, big Berkshire butt for 14+ hours (depending on the size). Start off by making my own spice rub by grinding many different kinds of dried chilis + many of spices to create the perfect rub. Then smoke it low and slow over a combination of apple, oak, and hickory wood. This versatile cut is also great for braising in the dutch oven and turning into pork tacos.

I am so hungry now, thanks for the great topic to write about! I can’t imagine what Symon’s book would inspire me to do with my pig!

All parts are great — here’s the most original one I’ve done recently. We had purchased some jamón serrano for a salmorejo garnish. And of course any good cured ham is delicious straight, with some bread and cheese. The ‘cooking with’ part came in when we made a quick pizza with pesto, jamón and parmesan. The quick high-heat cooking rendered some of the delicious cured flavor everywhere and it was one of the best pizzas we’ve made.

I love a nice slow cooked pork shoulder because I have fond memories of my mom roasting them for us when we were young. When slow cooked, its so tender and juicy, which is all that i could ask for in a piece of meat!

I like the slow-cooked pulled-pork barbeque sort of meal…..usually shoulder or butt I think. It just falls apart and is so juicy! Some good cole slaw on the side…tastes like summertime and cookouts. Yum.

I remember the first meal my wife and I cooked together, back when we were dating, was a roasted pork loin. We had a great time making this dish, and I ended up in the hospital with 3 stiches in my hand, because I put a knife she bought me through my hand as I was carving it.

To this day, everytime we have the dish, my wife reminds me of that night.

My mom has a killer roast pork tenderloin recipe: she starts by sautéing some diced apples, diced onions and sauerkraut in butter. She then takes the mix and spreads it along the bottom of a roasting pan, which she then puts a tenderloin on top. That gets seasoned it with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. She roasts it for 90 minutes and serves it with home made spatzle. Nothing better on a cold Cleveland evening.

I recently met Michael Symon at a fundraiser for my work – just a total gentleman. He is indeed a great representation of our city.

I have the most experience and delight cooking with the shoulder. We love to cook it SLOWLY – and shred the final result. I use part of the shredded meat with some homemade vinegar-y BBQ sauce on a challah bread roll. The other part is used for carnitas. The sweet, tender meat goes well with freshly made tortillas and a bit of lime and cilantro. Good times!

I have a love-hate relationship with pork, probably a consequence of growing up with a Quaker mother who made pork chops and a Jewish step-dad whose family never quite got over the fact he married a Goy from coastal New Jersey.

Pork done right has such flavor – rack of pork, kind of a standing rib of porcine pleasure, is probably my favorite; fresh rosemary flavoring the demi-glace, ground pepper crusting the roast. You get the wonderful loin, tender and juicy with just a trace of pink (don’t worry), and the ribs to gnaw on. Serve with either a hoppy beer (such as our own Burning River Pale Ale) or a flavorful red — I like Excelsior Cabernet from South Africa, a bargain priced wine that drinks like a $20 bottle.

I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs. I even made these yesterday. But of course, nothing tops bacon. mmmmm bacon. I’m a food network addict and would love to try some of Michael Symon’s recipes.

I would have to say the baby back ribs. However, my reason has nothing to do with me. Slow and low BBQ ribs are my wife’s favorite dish. If I am in the doghouse, I know cooking some ribs will keep me from sleeping on the couch!

I love Michael Symon, love Lola and a friend of my boyfriend was an awesome bartender there up until a year or so ago. So, do I want this cookbook? I’d do quite a few things for it but since you only asked for what part of the piggy I love to cook and why, I’ll put the kneepads away.
Pork tenderloin. Smoked in the Weber grill with Mesquite chips for 3 hours. Every time I make this it disappears almost as soon as I plate it. People who have shunned pork for years will try, “A taste, just a little taste. It smells so good!”
Also, I was a vegetarian for 6 years. How did my mother snap me out of it? By cooking bacon every single morning when I came home to visit from NYC. Diabolical, that little piggy, simply diabolical (and I don’t mean my Mom, okay maybe just the diabolical part)
Are you going to the IX food show? Would love to know your thoughts on that.
Love your site, as well. Thanks for loving Cleveland food as much as I do.
Sincerely,
Susie
Cleveland Heights

Since my teenage years I have been exploring the culinary world. I started slowly but my interest has grown considerably in the last few years (I’m in my mid-twenties). As time passed I have learned a great deal but most importantly, I have learned that in the culinary world there is always SO MUCH MORE to learn. I know I have hardly scratched the surface. That being said, I can fairly say that the delicious world of preparing pork is not one I have ventured into but would love to start! That’s why I would like to get Michael Symon’s cookbook. I know there is no better person in Cleveland (or the world?) to introduce me to the delectable world of pork and help me discover my favorie part of the pig to cook.

I’d have to say my favorite part of the pig to cook is the pork chop. It’s a tricky piece of meat to cook, as it is very easy to overcook and make it tough. I just love the fact that it can be prepared both savory or sweet, depending on my mood. And there is no overnight marination (is that a word?) required, so it’s a quick meal. I have made pork chops with honey & pecans, apples & caramelized sugar, balsamic & pear, thyme & shallots, baked with tomato sauce, you name it. So many things to do with a pork chop, thick or thin, grilled, sauteed, or baked. The versatility is amazing. I must also add that it was incredibly hard for me to pick a favorite part to cook because I am a die hard ribs fan, but there really is only one way I like to cook ribs. The pork chop allows for more creativity, and is therefore my favorite part of the pig to cook :)

Marinated and Spice Rubbed and slow roasted over a wood fire and finished with homemade barbecue sauce. Great because it lets you hang out all day by the fire with good beer and people who share the obsession of cooking

For cooking – I would have to say sausage. There are so many applications for it, and so many ethnic cuisines in which it fits right in – and so many varieties and flavors. Though, we (my husband and I) ate our Berkshire hog sausage as a simple burger!

As so many others have said – Bacon is also fun. We made Michael Symon’s Chocolate Covered Bacon for an event we catered last September and it was a big hit.

It’s good to hear that Michael is such a responsive and supportive person. I am proud that he is from Cleveland. I too don’t think there is a part of the big I don’t enjoy. I love sausage, pork tenderloin and “pork chops and applesauce” :-). And I agree with what almost everyone has said here, “Everything is better with bacon” – from bacon wrapped water chestnuts, which I would never eat by themselves, to chocolate covered bacon. It’s all just GOOD!

Without a doubt, pork belly. I get mine from the West Side Market and cure and smoke my own bacon. It comes with the skin on, so I will cut that off and use it in soups or stews (especially good for flavoring chowders). Recently, I started brining the pork belly, seasoning with corriander and peppercorn and smoke it a la pastrami.

I am torn. Bacon is obvious, but my next favorite is braised pork belly (which is usually made into bacon – the fat just melts in your mouth and is SO tender). Its a ridiculously drawn out process of rubbing it and letting it set for a day (I usually use a cajun mix I make, coriander, cumin and cayenne with some sea salt and pepper), brining it for another day and then initially browning it and then cooking with a cup of wine, tons of garlic and shallots in dutch oven in the oven for 3 hours. spectacular.

A close second to the belly for me is the cheeks. If you’re ever at a pig roast and they “present” the head at the serving table, take a knife and get under the skin along the jaw. The meat is so fatty and flavorful. Plus you get the added bonus of freaking all the little kids out at the party.

Belly, loin, tenderloin bacon…even jowl ( guancialle, thats wjat spaghetti carbonara is made from ) is very obvious choice …but the most uder used parts can be very delicious if treat it right…pork liver van make delicacies country pate, pigs feet has a lot of natural gelatin is insanely delicious ..trotters..it just takes a lot of skill and knoglige to make it right..pigs head gives us head cheese..[igs tales love it smoked with glass of beer and pumpernickel rye ( just like they eat in some parts of europe )…ears has a nice cruch,,can be braised ..confit ..or added to a headcheese for texture and flavor..pigs blood …blood rice sausage…” Radells ” off e 156 has good ones….hope I boost you appetite..i’m drooling .:-) and not kidding !

Wow, Symon would be proud. Lots of love for the hog – and plenty of prep ideas. Congrats to DW as the proud new owner of the cookbook. Buying the whole pig and enjoying every last bit of goodness is some serious pig passion.

Thank you for providing this insight into what type of a person Michael Symon is. It makes me even happier that I choose to patronize his restaurants knowing that he is a solid, thoughtful, generous human being.

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